


Dead Man's Hand

by MalikaiFlame



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Begging, Canon-Typical Violence, Desperation, Drug Withdrawal, Fanart, Forced Withdrawls, Gunshot Wounds, Hallucinations, Helplessness, Hurt Klaus Hargreeves, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Klaus Hargreeves Needs Help, M/M, Nightmares, Obsession, Panic Attacks, Protective Ben Hargreeves, Protective Diego Hargreeves, Protective Siblings, Protectiveness, Rape/Non-con Elements, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Restraints, Self-Sacrifice, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2019-11-29 12:40:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18223280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalikaiFlame/pseuds/MalikaiFlame
Summary: Klaus receives a note that threatens the life of one of his brothers, prompting him to secretly leave The Academy to meet the unknown writer's demands.Fic title and chapter titles are drawn from "Dead Man's Hand" by Lord Huron.Эта история также была переведена на русский BVB_Army. Для доступа используйте эту ссылку. : https://ficbook.net/readfic/8156356





	1. Yellow Lines in the Dead of the Night

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter is setting up the whump to come! You know you have to give it some build-up, right? The next chapters are 100% going to deliver. 
> 
> This story was created using the following prompt I found: "You find a hand-written note on your windshield that says Drive west for 100 miles."

A violent shake jostled Klaus from his light sleep. Eyes wide, he jerked up from his hunched sleeping position, his brain quickly working through the fog of sleep in order to take in where he was and why he was there. He instantly took in the underwhelming view through the windows. The Midwest really was nothing but corn fields. He had been trapped in this damn semi for awhile now and they STILL had not gotten out of Farmland Hell. The cows caught his attention though. If he weren’t in such a hurry, he would have been tempted to stop and try to pet one. Didn’t see many of those at The Academy. 

Klaus had started his journey four days ago, shuffling between rides. A white car for a few hours here, a blue truck for a day there. A patchwork journey across America! There had even been a moment where he had caught a ride with a grumbly fellow who drove a particularly sporty car, which made Klaus feel sexy. Sexy enough to try to flirt with people in neighboring cars that they passed by. He had tried to talk to the guy about it, even though he had never learned car breeds and only knew how to identify them by color, but all this guy seemed to want to do was talk about how, when he left the city, rocks would be kicked up from the gravel roads and ruin his paint job. With the company not too great, Klaus had said his goodbyes the instant they stopped for gas. 

Then he had met James. Lovely, lovely James. James picked him up on I-70 in Kansas City. Just Klaus’ luck, it had decided to rain the day before, leaving plenty of puddles on the road for cars to hit good-looking, vulnerable young men with waves of dirty rain water. Ben got a good laugh out of watching Klaus get pelted repeatedly, getting more and more soaked with each car that passed by, while the splashes went right through his ghostly self. Plus, it was hard to tell which were puddles in their own right, and which were potholes that had been filled with rain. His ankles had taken a fair bit of beating due to some unfortunate missteps and Klaus knew that he probably looked like a drowned rat by the time James pulled over to ask him if he needed a ride. His leather pants clung to his legs as he hurtled into the passenger’s side of the semi. Right as he got in, James had handed him a towel, which he used to wring out his hair before putting it underneath himself in order to avoid getting the fabric seats drenched. Which James laughed at and said, _“There’s no point, these seats are at the point a little water damage won’t make a difference.”_ James then spared him a few moments to get situated, then continued onto the road, no questions asked. Now, contrary to popular belief, Klaus was very aware of how much he liked to talk and ramble, but in this instance, he was thankful for a bit silence after an exhausting walk.

Returning to the present, Klaus checked the small clock on the dashboard. That had been what, 13 hours ago? Since then, James had done a lot of the talking, giving Klaus some time to unwind and just listen, instead of entertain. He learned that James had three children, two of which were under the age of four. His oldest being nine. His wife and family lived in Chicago, where his wife was a school teacher. They had met at a concert 16 years ago, which Klaus found very sweet. He too had found plenty of love on concert floors, but none which lasted longer than the night. James never asked questions, but let Klaus choose when he wanted to contribute, which he did here and there.

_“I have six siblings.”_

_“Wow! Big family!”_

**Yeah, no kidding.**

_“One of my brothers passed away though.”_

_Klaus instantly wished he could redo the last few seconds. Why did he say that? Klaus couldn’t believe that he had just divulged that information to James. He hadn’t planned on sharing such intimate details with some stranger he met a few hours before. Even Ben had raised an eyebrow, which Klaus ignored, but felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment regardless._

_“Oh… damn. I’m sorry to hear that… Think about him a lot?”_

_Klaus had spared a quick glance at Ben._

_“All the time.”_

Groaning, he pressed his fingers to pinch the bridge of his nose, breathed out the tension he had been holding, and leaned back into the passenger’s seat. He could feel his back aching from being in the sitting position for so long. And he had fallen asleep, which negated all the hard work he had done to avoid aches, shifting his weight from one buttcheeck to the other. He had been sitting for days and was stealing a few moments of sleep here and there, whenever the buzz in his mind quieted down enough for him to. His knees were screaming, begging to be stretched out. Klaus wished he could oblige, but even for a semi, there was little to no room from him to relieve his limbs. A part of him started to worry that Ben didn’t have enough room as well, before remembering that his brother was indeed a spirit who probably felt right as rain.

Closing his eyes again, he thought about his room. The posters on the walls. The clutter that he called home. Anything that had caught his attention, he stole, or as he liked to call it “bought without paying.” By this point he had quite an impressive collection of trinkets to show for it. And his bed. The sheets. The space. God, his bed at The Academy seemed a lifetime away. But one stupid note took all of that away.

****

**Klaus,**

****

****

**Be at Binion’s. Las Vegas. Thursday, 2:00 am.**

Klaus had stared at the note in confusion. It had been left on The Academy’s back door. Anyone could have picked it up. How did whoever sent it know that Klaus would be the one to find it? There were too many factors that seemed to leave it only to chance. But whoever had sent it was right. Klaus did find it, and he was the least prepared to act on what it said. He never was the life-saving type, even when his father made them wear their ridiculous masks and fight crime. They always looked like a cohesive unit, but when they entered the scene, while his siblings threw themselves into battle, Klaus always found a way to ride it out until all the violence was over and done with. Not that he ran away. He wouldn't abandon them like that.

****

**Rest assured, your brother will be killed if you are not.**

The ambiguity is what frightened him. In that first moment he had read that line, his mind exploded into a million directions at once. If the note were referring to Luther, Klaus had a feeling that he would know what to do. If Klaus really thought about it, he couldn’t remember a single fight that his brother had lost. It wasn’t quite fair though. He had always been one of their father’s favorites and to top it all off, Luther grew up to look like he ate a person a meal every day. The guy was huge. 

If the note were referring to Five, Klaus felt sorry for the poor fools who intended to hurt him. Ever since Five was able to speak, he had an edge to him that radiated “Don’t fuck with me” and Klaus would go so far as to say it was palpable. Five had always thought very highly of himself. He was the only one who was only called by his number, which said all there was to say about his character. However, if the note were referring to Diego…

Klaus again felt a chill race throughout his body at the thought, just as it had the first time.

Diego was blind to his limitations and that ambition left him vulnerable. Where Klaus always thought of all the potential dangers and was always watching his surroundings, Diego blazed into all of them as if he were invincible. If someone meant harm to Diego, it was likely that he wouldn’t realize it until they were on him and there was nothing he would be able to do about it. 

Diego was also a big softy and Klaus had to respect the amount of effort he put into looking like a badass. Diego was the only one of his siblings who had ever gotten high with him. When Klaus first started playing around with the thrills of intoxication, Diego had caught him practicing how to roll a joint. Diego wasn’t going to do it at first, but Klaus halfheartedly mentioned that he didn’t think Diego was brave enough to. A dirty trick, Klaus knew, but it worked. Diego had snatched the joint from his hands instantly and taken a huge swing of the thing. Klaus was in tears from laughing as Diego went into a coughing fit. But then Diego had taken the blame for the weed when their father came into the room to see what was going on. Their father had pulled Diego out of his room by the arm, leaving Klaus to sit in his guilt. Klaus was no stranger to his father’s discipline tactics.

****

**Just you.**

Klaus looked back at Ben. Well, that rule he was breaking, but unless this unknown poet could see ghosts too, he figured he was safe. 

“Sorry it isn’t more comfortable.” The driver said, his voice interrupting Klaus’ thoughts. “I’d offer you my seat cushion, but I feel…”

“You’re going to be in this torture on wheels a lot longer than I am.” Klaus responded, giving a small smile. “I wouldn’t dream of taking your one solace in this world.”

“It is a full-time job.” 

“My condolences.” Klaus smirked, pulling himself up with the grab handle on the ceiling in order to get a better look out the passenger window.

 _“They probably think I’m just off on another bender.”_ Klaus thought bitterly, even though he knew it wasn’t fair to. If he was truthful with himself, that’s probably where he would be if he hadn’t gotten that letter. He was always planning on how to get his next fix. Assuming that his disappearance was more about drugs and less about protecting one of their own was a good bet. A safe bet. And it was very out of character for him to be going head-first into danger. At the first sign of trouble, it had always been in Klaus’ nature to flee or hide or show up afterwards with a witty remark or two to save face, and there are some things that all the training in the world cannot change about a person. Klaus didn’t need his father to remind him that he was cowardly anymore, he was capable of doing that on his own now.

James took a moment to look over at him, raising an eyebrow. “I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but you don’t really seem like that kind of person to be hitchhiking around these parts.”

_Ah, how all good things must come to an end._

“Very observant of you, James.” Klaus pulled out the excuse he had been using for the entire ordeal. “I’m visiting one of my brothers for his birthday. Surprise birthday present and all, you know? And then my car broke down. Now I can’t be telling him I’m coming, or it’ll ruin the surprise, so this is how I’m going to have to get there.”

James let out a chuckle of disbelief. “Wow. You are dedicated aren’t you? I probably would have called it a day and gone back home if I were in your shoes. Damn good brother, you are!”

_That would make one person in this world who thinks that._

Klaus shook away the thought. “I tend to think so. Perhaps you wouldn’t mind repeating it just like that, but when he’s around?”

“Sure thing.” James leaned forward as he took a look at a sign as it passed by. “Hey, it’s been awhile since I picked you up. Are you hungry?”

Klaus’ stomach growled at the mention of food. It really had been awhile since he had pathetically pulled out the last scraps of change he had on him to buy a special: 10 chicken nuggets for a dollar. A steal, really. However, now there wasn’t any money left to his name and the cautious side of his nature made him wary of being more in debt to James, regardless of how pleasant the man was. Klaus had been prepared to blow the guy off for the ride. He had done more for less before, but James hadn’t brought it up, so Klaus wasn’t planning to either.

“No.” Klaus shrugged noncommittally, “Believe it or not, I’m not actually that hungry.” 

“I don’t think I do believe you. Honestly, it’s on me.”

Klaus turned around to see what Ben thought. 

“Why not?” Ben said, gesturing with his hands. Then his gaze hardened, “I didn’t want you to go without telling our siblings in the first place, but since you’re here, you might as well be fully charged when we get to God knows who for God knows what reason.”

“Whatever.” Klaus muttered under his breath.

“Sorry?” James asked.

“I said sure. But I seriously don’t have any money on me.” Klaus dug into his coat pocket and pulled out his haul: Some pocket lint, an empty bag that had previously held a choice narcotic, and three dimes. “I can give you… 30 cents.”

“Like I said, it’s on me. Think of it as me paying you back for listening to me talk forever, yeah?”

Klaus weighed is options, but his stomach made the final decision with an even louder growl. His arms rushed to cradle his sides, willing it to quiet down and not make him seem so desperate. Finally, he figured he wasn’t fooling anyone.

“Fine. But nothing fancy.”

“Deal.”  


\----------

After travelling for a few more hours, Klaus was awakened by a gentle shake. The hum of the road was keeping him in sleep’s grasp, as well as the gentle vibrations from the window his head was leaning on.

“I think it’s almost time for us to be parting ways.” James said quietly.

Still groggy, Klaus sat himself up, hitting his knee on the dashboard in the process.

“Where did we end up at, captain?” he winced, rubbing out the pain.

“Cove Fort.”

“Where the hell is Cove Fort?”

“Utah. About an two and a half south of Salt Lake City.”

Klaus’ brow furrowed in thought. James seemed to notice.

“You did say you needed to get as far west as possible, right? This is where I-70 ends and my company only does business on I-70. I don’t think I can get you any farther…”

“Nah, my dear James,” Klaus interrupted, “Cove Fort is perfect.”

“Where are you trying to get to anyways?” James continued, “Not going to lie to you, I’m a little nervous thinking about you wandering around.”

Ignoring the question, Klaus grabbed his duffle bag from the back seat. It felt pretty much dry by now. Hopefully the inside was as well. Klaus really didn’t feel like sleeping in damp pajamas. He could feel himself starting to shake a little as well. He needed to score.

“Hey. What’s your name?” James called after Klaus as he slid out of the semi, gingerly lowering himself onto the ground so that his sore legs wouldn’t buckle the second they hit solid ground.

Klaus pretended not to hear and closed the passenger door on James, silently wishing him the best. Once at a safe distance, he turned on his heels and gave James a cheerful wave. Then he set his eyes on the road and checked his watch. Only 6:00 pm, and he was a little under four hours from his destination: Sin City. That gave him two hours to find a new ride.


	2. Sure as Hell, He was Dead as They Come

Temptation. That was the point of Las Vegas, right? And Klaus was never one to deny his vices.

Once he exited his final ride, which dropped him off at Las Vegas Boulevard, “The Strip” he quickly learned it was called, he was captivated. His senses were instantly bombarded. Music. People talking. Conversations overlapping. Lights. Huge store names in bright lights. Hard Rock Cafe. Flamingo. Excalibur’s castle illuminating the street. On the wind there was the familiar smell of pot. There were still so many people out too, even with it being 1 am and all. It instantly seemed to be his kind of city. Klaus swayed a little and leaned on the closest car he could find. It was a good thing he was high, otherwise he would never have been able to take it all in.

The car he had been leaning on took off without warning, making Klaus lose his balance. Laughing a little, Klaus noncommittally gave the driver the bird as he pulled out the note out of his pocket again.

**Klaus,**

**Be at Binion’s. Las Vegas. Thursday, 2:00 am latest.**

****

****

**Rest assured, your brother will be killed if you are not.**

**Just you.**

_Binion’s._

Klaus quickly set to looking for a map of The Strip. His final driver had said the gambling hall was only a 20 minute walk from where he was, but he needed to be sure. Time was getting close and he wasn’t about to make a mistake now. Shit, he didn’t even know what to do once he even got there. Pushing his rising anxiety down, trying to quiet his mind, he looked down at his watch again. 

_It’s always best to stay numb._

Klaus did a scan of his surroundings. Maybe he could just ask someone. There were definitely plenty of options. Then he spotted a lovely looking couple posing in front of a giant “Hell’s Kitchen” sign. The man was clearly struggling with his camera. Klaus thought it was adorable. After a few more moments of watching, he approached them.

“I can take your picture, if you want.” Klaus offered, putting on the most unassuming demeanor he could manage.

“Oh, could you?” The woman asked. “We would appreciate it!” 

Once the camera was in his grip, Klaus quickly lined it up and haphazardly snapped a photo. Then, thinking twice, he brought it back up and counted to three before taking a second, better one. 

_See, I do have a heart._ He thought to no one in particular. 

Handing the camera back to the couple, Klaus worked to maintain is relaxed composure as his nerves began to act up again. “Would you happen to know where Binion’s is?”

“Binion’s?” The woman wondered. “No dear, I don’t think we do. Do we?” 

“Not that I know of. There are so many popular places around here.”

_What a waste of a good deed._

“We accidentally both grabbed a map though. We only need one.” The man handed off a brochure over to Klaus. “You can have it.”

Klaus almost cried. “Thank you!” The woman smiled and the three of them waved their goodbyes as he took off down The Strip with his newfound sense of direction.

_________

Anywhere else and it would have been extremely impressive, but in the heart of Las Vegas, Binion’s was almost lost in all of the commotion and the sea of flashing attractions. He liked the big B above the entrance. It and the color scheme reminded him of the Boomerang channel that he and his siblings used to watch when they were kids.Courage the Cowardly Dog was always his favorite, but for a different reason than his brothers and sisters. They all thought Courage was funny when he jumped around and made a fool of himself. Klaus thought it was really sad that no one believed him when he saw all of those scary things. 

_Talk about projection. And speaking of defense mechanisms..._

Klaus pulled out his last bit of narcotics he had bummed off of some stranger with 20 bucks he had just pickpocketed off of some man on The Strip. He had been too caught up watching some fountain show to even notice. It was enough for a bit of a booster.

“Do you really think you should be getting high right now?” Ben chided.

“You just wish you could have some too.” Klaus sniffed. “Besides, it’s like you said. Gotta be fully charged before walking into battle.”

“Someday you’re going to be so full of that crap you won’t be able to see me anymore.”

“Hey. Don’t even joke about that.” Klaus reprimanded. “I’m glad to have back-up.”

_________

Klaus had not made it 10 minutes into the building before shit hit the fan. 

Upon arriving, the first thing he saw was a giant casino, filled with slots and tables. In the back, there was a small table with a sign that said “Reserved. K.H.” Klaus probably wouldn’t have noticed it amongst all of the glitz and glamour of casino living, but he recognized the handwriting instantly. It matched his note and he had made a beeline to it.

Behind the reservation sign was a small envelope. He gave Ben a confused look and started to open it, figuring there would be instructions inside. Instead, when he lifted the flap, a burst of something light shot right at his face. Klaus was an expert at downing foreign substances and he instantly recognized the feeling.

Klaus coughed, sending the particles further into his system. _Shit._

“Hey!” Ben had shouted, trying to get his attention, but it was too late. Klaus didn’t have a chance to turn around before the powder knocked him out cold and the last thing he felt were arms catching him as he fell backwards.

It took his mind a full 30 seconds to start working when he woke up again. The first thing he became aware of was the banging. God, his head hurt. Klaus hissed as he tried to lift his head up, which didn’t work the first time. It seemed unnaturally heavy and he started to feel nauseous the moment he tried. Letting his head fall back again, it smacked into something hard, making his mind swim. A shaky breath rippled through him as he braced himself to try again. Grimacing, he reached up to touch the side that was throbbing, only to receive his second surprise of the evening. Thick rope tugged at his wrists and stopped his arms short. Confused, he gave another light tug. Then another, the dread tightening in his stomach. He tried to kick his legs, to see if he could move them at all. The answer was no.

“Ben?” Klaus called out, his voice trembling.

No answer.

The place looked like a mess. It was clear he was in a hotel room, but it was equally clear that no one had been around to clean up in quite some time. That, or management was really bad at hiring room service. Klaus knew it was probably the first option.

He also had a fair guess for where he was. The brochure that contained the map of Las Vegas Boulevard had brief descriptions of the attractions. Apparently, the Binion’s people know and love today is attached to a tower of abandoned hotel floors, which meant that he shouldn’t be expecting visitors to stumble onto him and help.

“Great back-up, buddy.” Klaus tried again, feeling the alarm growing stronger at the silence.

A creak alerted him to a presence. His first thought was relief. That Ben was there, but the rational side of him knew that Ben couldn’t make that kind of noise. It had to be someone with a physical body.

Without warning, a light turned on, hitting his unprepared eyes and a wave of pain coursed through his brain. It felt like a migraine, but with what he presumed was a head injury, it felt ten times worse. After a few seconds, he slowly coaxed his eyes open to find two men standing in front of him.

One of the men dropped something onto his lap. It was a poster of he and his siblings in the Umbrella Academy get-ups. A pretty old one too. They all looked like they were maybe 12. Looking at their pictures provoked a stirring in his gut. The dread of not knowing what was happening made their absence almost overwhelming. They may not have been the closest of family, but Klaus did love them in his own way and he wanted nothing more than for them to come storming in to rescue him. He quickly scanned the familiar faces. Ben, Allison, Luther, Five, Diego...

_Diego._

Klaus almost let out a sob.

_Keep your head! Keep your head!_

“We need you to get in contact with someone for us.”

The gruff voice snapped him back into attention. Klaus quickly collected himself before raising his head to meet their gaze. With a smile he said, “Geez, boys. You could have done that with any ol’ phone. There’s no need for a big scene--”

“Not that kind of contact.”

Klaus’ blood ran cold, knowing exactly what they wanted.

“Well, chaps. I’m going to be honest with you since you’ve been so open thus far.” Klaus quipped. “You clearly know who I am. Your poster proves that, but I think you hit a little too hard and knocked the necromancy right out of me.”

Klaus flinched as one of the men lunged at him, his hand coiling around around Klaus’ neck and slightly raising him out of the chair he was bound to. After hiding the instinctual fear, Klaus gave the man a quick smirk, ready to comment on his arousal level as soon as he let up, but the man just smiled back at him and began to squeeze tighter. Klaus felt a dull pop and when the man didn’t let up, he started to panic. The chair scraped at the ground as his hands fought against the rope, desperately trying to stop the attack.

It felt like a lifetime before the man threw Klaus back into the chair. 

After giving him a second to catch his breath, the man pulled out a slip of paper with a single name on it. Daniel Gillepse. “We need you to get in contact with this person.”

“Charlie. Can I call you Charlie?” Klaus asked mockingly.

The other man buried his hands into Klaus’ black curls, which were drenched in sweat by this point, and yanked back mercilessly, making Klaus hiss.

“And you’ll be Johnny.“ Klaus pressed through gritted teeth. “You…” Klaus was cut off as Johnny pulled back harder, making it feel like his hair was going to be ripped out. “You look like a Johnny.”

Johnny threw Klaus’ head forward. Once the grip was released, Klaus felt the chair tip and the weight went past the point of coming backwards. Instinctually, Klaus tried brace himself with his arms and legs, but the restraints held tight. The force would have sent him to the floor if Charlie hadn’t caught the back of the chair first.

Pulling him back upright, he was shown the paper again. “Do it NOW.”

Klaus sighed. “Look, I would love nothing more than to pull your boss away from his early lunch in Hell for a quick meeting, but I can’t exactly do that.”

_I literally can’t give them what they want._

The realization hit him hard. His family knew that he had never been able to have that much control over his rendezvouses with the undead, and the second he learned that drugs kept the spirits at bay, he abandoned his attempts at interacting with them in favor of shutting them out completely. Accompanying the realization came spark of fear that was made clear on Klaus’ face before he was able to stifle it, and he knew that they saw it.

“I’m sorry I’m being smart. Force of habit you know?” Klaus pleaded, his voice getting more and more shrill. He gave a distraught laugh, “I literally have NO idea how to summon a… a specific person!”

Distressed, Klaus trained his gaze on Johnny as the man made his way behind him until he couldn’t turn his head any farther. When he returned to look at Charlie, the man had a knife in his grip and a new smile on his face.

“No, no, no, no. I promise I’m telling you the truth!” Klaus’ voice rose as Charlie got closer. “Why… Why would I keep you from talking to him? I have no reason to!”

Klaus jumped as Johnny gripped him from behind, holding his shoulders in place. Charlie kneeled down between Klaus’ legs, forcing them to be spread wider, which made Klaus catch his breath. A knowing sneer flashed across the man’s face. They both knew exactly what had passed through Klaus’ mind. 

"Don't you worry your pretty head. That's more my pal's scene." he grinned. 

While staring directly at Klaus, Charlie began to work. He made quick work of Klaus’ right pant leg, which he cut apart in seconds. The knife then glided down his thigh, a thin trail of blood following in its path. The gentle brush stung more than if they had just gotten it over with and stabbed him. It was clear that they had as much time as they needed to do whatever it is they wanted to him, and he couldn’t stop it.

_You’re going to have to fake it._

“Okay!” Klaus practically begged.

Charlie stayed in place, clearly not ready to call the fun short. Instead, he paused his cutting where it was, but kept the knife there as if to remind Klaus of what he was willing to do.

“You got him yet?”

“I’m trying!” 

_Ben. Where are you!?_

Klaus waited until he thought it was a convincing amount of time.

“I think I’m getting something…”

He’d watched enough psychic shows to see how it’s done. Be vague and let them give you all you need to know. Then sell it.

“Prove it.”

“How?” Klaus sighed.

“What does he look like?”

Klaus closed his eyes, as if in deep thought. “He’s… difficult to hear, but he looks…” He paused to try to come up with something convincing, “...Upset?”

That earned him a smack to the head from Johnny.

“That isn’t what he asked you, you little shit. He asked you ‘What. Does. He. Look. Like?’”

“You don’t see, like, GHOST ghosts. It’s more like a feeling of someone.” 

One man shot the other a look of amused disbelief and the other chuckled. 

“Like I don’t see what they look like in life, but the soul that the body contained.” Klaus recovered. God, he was really pulling this out of his ass.

“What’s he upset about?” Johnny asked skeptically. “His kid?”

“I mean, he did just get screwed over by her, didn’t he?” Charlie added.

“Yes. Yes!” Klaus scrambled, his eyes lighting up at the bite. He could do this. “Oh, that was the first thing he mentioned.”

Charlie sneered, his lips turning into a wicked smile, as if exactly what he had been wanting to happen had just occurred. Klaus began to panic as the man shifted.

““He doesn’t have a kid.” Charlie laughed, looking absolutely sinister. “Hold him still.”

Johnny’s grip promptly became crushing. Anticipating the blow to follow, Klaus squeezed his eyes shut as hard as he could.

He thought he heard himself make a noise, but it sounded as if it were distant. Something that hadn’t come from him at all. A gasp, but in slow motion, as if traveling through a thick screen. But he suddenly felt warm. Did he… Did he just piss himself?

“Oh god.” Klaus whimpered, daring to look down at what had happened. Dread slowly took over as he looked at the fresh blood pulsing from his thigh. The guy hadn’t even taken the knife out. The handle, now laced with red, jerked with each pained breath Klaus tried to take. _Sick fuck sickfuck sickfuck!_

The searing pain blazed through his entire body as he threw his head back in agony. The last ounce of air left in him was pushed out, leaving himself completely empty. He tried to breathe, but his body wouldn’t let any air get in. Each desperate slip of air that he managed to get in was cut off by his throat, which had seized up to the point nothing could get through. His hands gripped the arms of the chair as lights started to fill his vision.

“Klaus, you have to breathe.” Ben urged from over Charlie’s shoulder.

“Ben!” Klaus sobbed. _Oh god thank you!_

“Breathe!”

“I.... I....I’m t...rying…” Klaus gasped between shallow attempts of getting air to his lungs.

His cheek stung with a swift slap and any progress on his breathing that he had made was quickly dashed. “You listen, you piece of shit. I don’t want to hear a damn word from you unless it’s what we want to hear. Got it? ” Charlie growled.

“Breathe, Klaus! Please!”

Klaus stifled a response, terrified of what would be done to him if he spoke again. Instead he nodded, hoping Ben would understand that he was responding to him and not Charlie. That he was listening.

His captors seemed to realize that Klaus was nearing a breaking point and gave him a few minutes to regain his breath. Klaus would have been embarrassed by his display of utter helplessness if he wasn’t so caught up in trying to keep his head above water. Slowly, the terror that had been holding his lungs hostage released its hold and oxygen finally started to enter his starved body again.

“Now, are we going to try this again?” Charlie taunted, his mouth close enough to Klaus’ face that he could feel the heat from his breath.

Sobbing, Klaus looked at the name again.

“Please… I swear I can’t do it.”

Charlie put his finger in the open wound and twisted. Hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you all want to know what a break down looks like? Well, let me tell you: It's dead silence. I have spent about 20 hours working on this fic (including future chapters) and my Google docs locked me out and I couldn't find the password and I thought I lost this fic forever. Thankfully, I was able to straighten everything out and in order celebrate, I decided to post a day early! Enjoy!


	3. I Laid Him Down in a Grave in the Sand

Diego reached down to pull the lever that readjusted his seat of his car. It was a movement he was quite familiar with by this point. He’d owned this car for years and had always been really proud it. Diego had gone out and bought it without any help from his father and when he pulled up to The Academy with it, he knew it was going to cause a scene, which, if he was honest with himself, was exactly what he was searching for. The look on his father’s face was priceless, even if it only lasted for a moment. He had expected his father to really dig into him, but instead he just looked the vehicle up and down and turned inside without saying a word. Of course. It would have been too much parenting for him to do anything about it. Instead, he opted to ignore Diego’s decision. Classic Dad.

After turning another corner, Diego did a quick scan of his surroundings. Nothing eventful had happened on patrol so far. There were a few moments when he thought he might have seen something, but all of them turned out to be false leads, and Diego knew he needed to be extremely selective on when he intervened. Eudora was always keeping tabs on him and always seemed to find him the second he decided to generate some of his own justice. Diego may have found it annoying if he didn’t enjoy getting her riling her up so much. He had developed a bit of a crush on her when they were training to become cops, but since he didn’t quite make it through the police academy, Diego knew it would never work. She was too much of a rule follower for them to ever make it. He was alright with that though. It didn’t stop him from having some fun when she was around.

He also knew that Al was going to kill him when he found out that he had snuck out again. But Diego couldn’t help it. He knew that he wasn’t destined to mop floors for the rest of his life, and he just felt wrong whenever he wasn’t out in the city doing his true calling. He could say what he wanted about his father, but he did train Diego well and now those skills were being wasted. Instead of carrying knives on his belt, he had disinfectant and rags. Diego knew that he should care about his job a little more, since Al did let him live in the back room in exchange for his services, but everytime Al threatened him with eviction, Diego knew it was all talk. If Al hadn’t kicked him out yet for all of the knives he’s thrown at the guy, Diego felt pretty confident Al wouldn’t do it for skipping out on a few days of work here and there.

Diego’s attention was pulled away from the streets by the sound of his phone going off. Since it was in the cupholder, the vibration was made quite loud from hitting the sides. He quickly picked it up to take a look at who was calling. Luther. A part of him debated even answering, but he knew it would come and bite him in the ass later if he didn’t. After giving himself a moment to sigh, Diego brought the phone to his ear.

“What?” Diego asked curtly.

“It’s Luther.”

 _Yeah, no shit._ Diego thought, but he held himself back from saying it at the last second. If he did, Luther would get defensive. Then it would turn into a fight, which meant that Luther would be on the line longer, which was the last thing Diego wanted. As much as he enjoyed sparring with his brother, verbally or physically, he needed to be in the mood. Otherwise, it was wasn’t worth his time.

“What do you want?” Diego asked again. Perfect compromise. It was just rude enough to get under Luther’s skin, but not hostile enough for Luther to call him out on it. Just the way Diego liked it.

“I have a favor to ask you. And I got a call from your boss asking me where you were. So I know you’re not a work, which means you’re out sneaking around town playing cop.”

_Is this guy trying piss me off?_

“Anyways, what I’m asking is if you’ve seen Klaus out there. I haven’t seen him in a few days and he left his stupid boa here and I’m tired of keeping track of it for him. ”

Diego about called bullshit on that. Luther could’ve just thrown it into Klaus’ room and forgotten about it. God knows how much crap Klaus has in there. There had to be something else going on, and Luther was too emotionally constipated to come out and say what he was really thinking. Diego guessed that was something that was one thing they had in common.

“How many days has it been?”

“A week.”

_A week?_

Klaus had a knack for disappearing acts, but Diego couldn’t think of a time when, between all of them, a full seven days had gone by without a single Klaus sighting. He almost always was caught slumming it in some alleyway or occasionally showing up at Vanya’s to crash for the night. Often he would appear at The Academy to swipe a homemade meal from Mom before retreating back into the outside world. Especially with how many siblings he had that knew to keep an eye out for him, seven days was unusual. Nothing to get alarmed over, but something to notice. Luther must have been thinking it too.

“I’ll swing by some of his usual haunts and see if I can catch him.” Diego answered.

“Good.”

That tone really rubbed him the wrong way.

“I’m not doing this because you told me to.” Diego responded, knowing that he sounded childish.

“Really, Diego?” Luther sighed, exasperated.

Diego hung up before his brother had a chance to try to lecture him.

___________

Five hours later, after a report back from Diego that there had been no sign of Klaus, Luther called for a family meeting. The entirety of the surviving Hargreeves siblings congregated in The Academy’s kitchen, besides Klaus obviously. 

“Thanks for coming so quickly, everyone.” Luther started. “It’s about Klaus.”

The second Klaus’ name was mentioned, the entire room seemed to relax. It was as if something concerning Klaus was no big deal and that it wasn’t as bad as everyone thought the news would be. Diego couldn’t pinpoint why, but their attitude towards their brother sent a tingle of anger through him. Only Vanya seemed to still look uncomfortable.

“Is he okay?” Vanya asked, worry lacing her words.

“I just wanted to get us all together to see if anyone has talked to him recently.”

“If he has come by my apartment, it must have been when I was out or at rehearsal.” Vanya contributed quietly. “Otherwise, no.”

“He sometimes calls me to ask for money… but I haven’t heard from him.” Allison added.

“Well, how do we know he isn’t just high somewhere?“ Five said. “This isn’t exactly new and he always turns up.”

“But seven days?” Diego interrupted forcefully, to which Five just shrugged.

“You didn’t say seven days.” Five shot back.

“Well, I’m saying it now!” 

“Diego--” Luther warned.

“Does anyone have a way of contacting him?” Allison asked, with a hint of what Diego would call concern.

“He doesn’t have a phone.” Luther answered.

Silence replaced their conversation as none of them knew what to say to that. It had never really occurred to them that Klaus needed a phone. He always just seemed to appear when he was needed, without being asked or missed. Whenever he was expected to be there he was. Or maybe no one had ever been interested in reaching him when he wasn’t needed, so his inaccessibility had gone unnoticed. They always took for granted that Klaus would always reappear.

“Look, I don’t want people to get worried. I’m not saying something bad has happened to him.” Luther voiced after a few moments. “Five is right, Klaus does go off the grid all the time.”

Diego had to consciously keep from rolling his eyes. Why did Luther have to sound so authoritative every time he opened his mouth? 

“Maybe we can just take some time to look for him.” Luther continued. “I’m sure he’ll show up if we just take a few hours to really focus our efforts.”

“I agree.” Diego said suddenly. All of his siblings turned to give him a confused look. Diego was painfully aware of how little Luther and him were ever on the same page, so he shouldn’t be surprised by their reactions.

“Don’t get too excited.” Diego added dismissively, “It’s a good idea, objectively.”

Vanya nodded, as if trying to settle the tension building. She was always sensitive to that kind of thing. Diego may not have always seen her relevance when it came to missions, but she did have an acute ability to read a room.

As they divided tasks, Diego could tell both he and Luther were trying to sound as casual as they could, and they were both trying to come off as cool-headed leaders. But they were both secretly worried and neither one of them would acknowledge it. If Luther was going to act ambivalent in front of them, so would he.

Five and Allison went off to see if they could hear anything on the streets. See if they could find any dealers who knew Klaus and perhaps if they had sold to him recently. Diego had offered to go, but Vanya made a point that his face was also pretty well known by the dealers around town, and not in a very flattering way. Diego would just make them clam up, so why not send a kid and a famous celebrity instead?

Vanya decided that she could do some research. Checking to see if she could find paper trails or some kind of hint through the Hargreeves’ various accounts to see if Klaus had made any notable purchases. She went back to her apartment to retrieve her laptop, but was planning on coming right back to The Academy so that she wouldn’t be left out of any updates, which Diego admitted was fair because, if they did find anything, Vanya would be the last thing on his mind.

That left Diego and Luther. Despite the fact that both of them were quite capable of field work, both were resigned to searching the house. Not necessarily FOR Klaus, but for hints as to his whereabouts. Luther and Diego made their way to Klaus’ room, neither one of them sparring much small talk. Once they got in, they divided and conquered.

_Jesus, Klaus._

The room was a damn mess. Honestly, maybe Klaus was hiding somewhere under all of his shit. Diego glanced over the walls and the floor. Klaus had quite an impressive spread. Diego could see things as varied as knitting needles jutting out from underneath a pile of posters to the creepiest stuffed animal Diego had ever seen, which he vividly remembered Klaus winning at a Chuck E. Cheese years ago. Diego had always hated the thing, so Klaus was sure to have it nearby at all times. Diego picked up a plate that had hash clinging to it, knowing that Klaus had long abandoned trying to hide his drug habits. He partially tried to scrape some of it off with his fingernail as he set it back down. Upon looking around, it really did look like Klaus never got rid of anything he had managed to get his hands on. There were treasures that Diego recognized from years ago, making the room seem all too familiar, and Diego was no stranger to this space.

When Klaus started getting old enough to have bad dreams, all of his siblings had taken turns coming in to comfort him and make sure that he was okay. It seemed to happen suddenly when they were about eight years old. It started out small at first. Klaus looked more and more tired each morning, but would dismiss it as a rough night. But then the rough nights started happening more often than less. After a few months of this, their father took Klaus on a trip and Diego remembered being extremely jealous, not understanding what he had done wrong and why he didn’t get an outing. But that’s when the illusion started to crack. He could never prove their father had done anything to Klaus, but when they came back, Klaus’ nightmares were worse, and whatever happened that weekend changed his brother. 

After awhile, their father had told him and his siblings that all they were doing was coddling him and that they were no longer permitted to come in his room at night. Luther quit checking in, obviously. We couldn’t disobey Dad now, could we? Diego knew that all of them had to have stayed up in their own rooms each night, haunted by the screams Klaus made, because he sure as hell was. But after awhile, his siblings had started to grow used to Klaus’ whimpering at night, when the nightmares returned. Diego couldn’t though. 

Diego started finding ways to get into Klaus’ room once everyone went to bed. There had been a few failed attempts here and there. He would misstep and the floorboard would cry out a warning. One time, Vanya left her violin case in the hall and Diego had tripped over it. But the accidents started to happen infrequently enough that their father stopped having Mom check in on him. 

The first few times Diego had gotten into Klaus’ room scared him. Klaus wouldn’t just be twitching, he would be convulsing, digging his heels into the mattress with his toes curled in and bunching up the sheets in his tight fists. Diego was no stranger to pulling Klaus’ arms away from his ears or wiping the damp hair from Klaus’ forehead as Klaus begged the tormentors in his mind to stop. It was almost like a trance. Nothing Diego ever said or did seemed to wake Klaus up. As helpless as it made him feel, that didn’t stop him from wanting to be there. Klaus needed someone to be there when he broke the surface. Diego couldn’t imagine anything more terrifying than waking up in the dark alone after something like that. Whenever Klaus did realize Diego was there, he would grasp at him and begin to tremble as Diego held him. They would both wait in silence as the convulsions slowly turned to tremors and his hitched breath turned to a more steady pace. And no matter how hard Klaus clutched onto him, Diego never asked him to let up, knowing that his pain couldn’t compare. Neither one of them ever spoke of it when the mornings came.

One time, after calming Klaus down, Diego had run into Luther on his way back to his room. They made eye contact as Luther slipped past him. Diego had stayed up the rest of the night, terrified of what would happen when Luther told their father. The next morning at breakfast, Diego walked in dreading the lecture he knew he was going to get. But it never came. Diego had shot Luther a questioning glance, to which Luther gave a brief nod and returned to his plate. To date, Diego thinks that that is the only time he had ever seen Luther disobey.

Forbidding them from helping Klaus was better training than anything his father could have created. It taught all of them how to hide heartache.

“Find anything?”

Luther’s voice brought him back. Diego gave a curt shake and opened Klaus’ closet. 

Diego knew instantly that something was different. First of all, the clothing seemed more sparse than usual. Klaus’ favorite pair of pants, which were leather and full of holes up the sides, which Klaus claimed was fashion, were nowhere to be found. Leaning over, Diego began to shift through the piles on the floor. Klaus never hung anything up. However, even after searching through those, Diego could tell that a noticeable amount of Klaus’ clothes were gone. Then he remembered his brother’s duffle bag. With renewed direction, Diego tore through the closet and the ground around him.

“Have you seen a duffle bag anywhere, Luther?” Diego asked urgently. 

“I… haven’t. Why?” Luther asked as he bumped into a dresser, promptly causing a cascade of trinkets to spill all over the floor.

“Why would Klaus take his duffle bag?” Diego pressed, his voice rising at the realization. “Klaus is never prepared enough to pack when he leaves normally. He often shows up again in what he was wearing days before. We’ve seen it all the time. Why is this time different?”

Luther processed Diego’s words. “You’re right.”

“This isn’t like him.”

Diego could see Luther thinking hard. His mind processing the idea and the string of inferences one could draw from that. For Diego, it didn’t lead to anywhere good and it didn’t seem to for Luther either. Diego could feel his own heart starting to quicken. Before now, they were all able to believe that Klaus was fine, but now there was proof that something really could be wrong and that changed everything.

“We need to get everybody back here, now.”

__________

Once everyone returned, Luther quickly filled the rest of their siblings in. All of them came to the same conclusion: This wasn’t right. Luther insisted that they all take the night to recharge so that they could be battle-ready tomorrow, which Diego adamantly disagreed with, but everyone else sided with Luther, which was why he was back at Al’s rather than out continuing the search.

“Hey Diego!” Al called after him. “You got some mail earlier today. Slid it under your door.”

Confused, Diego unlocked the back room and bent down to pick up the letter. The front looked ordinary… His name and address. A return address from… Las Vegas? Diego wracked his brain trying to think who he knew in Nevada. With no one coming to mind, he turned it over and withdrew a knife from his belt to rip the top seam. Inside was a handwritten note.

**Diego,**

**Binion’s. Room 267.**

**Klaus is getting lonely.**

Diego forgot how to breathe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it's time we gave Diego some attention. I also really wanted to show all of the siblings being concerned about Klaus because sometimes I feel like they are pushed to the side or dismissed. But we all know that if they knew one of their own was in danger, they would all be ready to fight.
> 
> Thank you for all of your feedback! I have been so excited to post this new chapter!


	4. I Stared Right into the Endless Void

_Wow. Withdrawal is a bitch._

Klaus had gone through withdrawal before, but no matter how many times he did, it always sucked as if it were the first. It wasn’t that he ever went out of his way to try to break his addiction to drugs. The whole point he chased those highs was to avoid something much worse. But there had been times when he couldn’t get enough money to purchase his next hit, and the exchange of sex didn’t appeal to dealers. So despite his best efforts, Klaus was no stranger to having an episode of withdrawal. He usually ended up having them behind some dumpster until someone felt sorry enough for him to lend him some cash. Now, he knew no one was going to give him that fix. 

Each movement he made sparked pain in his wrists, the ropes biting at his raw skin. His wounds had been given time to settle, making his skin taut and any shift just that more painful. Klaus refused to look at his leg, knowing that the blood would only make him panic again. Passing out felt like some sort of reset button and he needed to stay as calm as he could so that he could just fucking THINK. It seemed he was alone now, so he afforded himself a goan that had been clawing to get out the moment he regained consciousness.

But he did hear something.

Ben was… crying? Klaus tilted his head in confusion. Ben was always so composed. So cool and collected. Honestly to the point Klaus wondered if he was even able to cry. Seeing the tears in his eyes scared him, even if his mind felt like cotton. He had never really thought about it before.

“I’m so sorry, Klaus. I don’t know what happened. And... And I couldn’t find you. Your connection was gone and I couldn’t get back!”

Klaus tried to nod. The attempt made his vision swim. He made a mental note that he had to figure out whatever drug it was that they used in the envelope so that he could never get near it again. If he made it out of this.

“I’m completely useless. I can’t do anything except watch as you get the crap beat out of you.”

A surge of protective anger sparked within him. “You’re not… You’re not useless, Ben.” Klaus breathed, his head falling to the side. “You’re here. I need you. Just... just don’t leave me here alone.”

“What? We’ve already grown on you that much?”

Klaus stiffened at the voice. _Charlie._

“Mind if I take a turn?” Johnny asked, as if he were talking about something innocent.

“Be my guest.” Charlie responded, keeping up the light tone. “My wrist is getting sore. I always forget how much beating someone up can put a strain on you.”

Charlie leaned back onto the bed, seemingly enjoying Klaus’ unease. Dread bristled through him as Johnny slinked his legs over the chair on both sides and came to rest on Klaus, straddling him. Draping his arms on either side of Klaus’ head, Johnny leaned forward and smelled him before bringing his arms back around. Klaus jerked his head back, attempting to wrench himself from between Johnny’s hands, which had found their way to cradling his face. Johnny’s grip grew tighter, to the point where Klaus was sure there would be bruises. It felt like a mark.

Klaus’ skin crawled with disgust. All he could think of was the pressing weight of the man’s body over his. A cold wave trembled through him all the way to his fingertips that made him shake slightly. He could feel the hairs on his arms begin to raise. 

“Oh, we are sensitive, aren’t we?” Johnny mocked, his finger tracing Klaus’ jawline and, stopping at his chin, he gripped tight and forced Klaus to look up at him. He pulled Klaus’ face to met his and when his lips wisped over Klaus’ it turned into a sneer.

“God, you are pretty.”

That’s when Klaus felt a sharp pain. Eyes wide, he looked down, only to find his . _Between the ribs. Shit._

Johnny idly began to play with Klaus’ hair, humming as Klaus tried to regain his breath. “You have a friend coming.”

“What?” _Just get off of me…_

“We just thought you might want to freshen up before he gets here.”

“Don’t let him get to you, Klaus.” Ben warned from over Johnny’s shoulder.

Klaus couldn’t get his brain to generate any kind of understanding, and the effort was increasing the intensity of his migraine. Instead for responding, Klaus used what seemed the last of his strength to shift his head over towards Ben to maybe get a hint. The look on Ben’s face made his stomach twist. Ben looked, well to forgive the phrase, as white as a ghost.

“What’s he saying?” Klaus slurred.

“Klaus, I need you to listen to me right now, okay? I need you to concentrate.” Ben said urgently. Klaus focused his gaze on Ben and not Johnny or the fresh blood pulsing out of his wound, using every bit of willpower he had to center in on his brother’s face as he weakly gestured that he was paying attention.

“They are tricking someone. Probably one or more of our siblings to come and try to get you..”

_Someone’s coming? Oh thank god._

“You have to help them when they get here. Think: What do they need to know right away? That there are two of them and that they are armed. You can’t pass out because they need to know, got it? Or else they will not be able to get you out of here.”

“‘Diego. Diego’.” Johnny mocked, his hips slightly rocking against Klaus’ as he did so, making Klaus feel sick. “You were whimpering it like an idiot the whole time you were passed out. So, we thought ‘Why not let him know you miss him?’”

Diego’s name coursed through his mind. His heart still ached at the idea of him. Especially now. Even with the danger. A pathetic sound escaped his lips, thinking of the peril Diego was going to be walking into. It’s like Ben said. He had to stay awake. He had to let Diego know what he was up against.

“But we can’t ruin the element of surprise.” Charlie added.

“No. No. No. No.” Klaus weeped as Johnny forced a gag into his mouth and planted a kiss over it once he was finished.  


_________

Binion’s wasn’t too hard to find. The moment he located it, Diego stormed into the building. When a blunt hostess made it perfectly clear that guests were not allowed above the second floor, Diego cut his losses and figured he would have to find his own innovative way of getting upstairs, which required a little less asking and a little more doing. Which he did and it may have involved a few less-than-legal actions, but, as Patch was always a fan of saying, he wasn’t a cop. 

Room 256 was easy enough to find. Diego followed the eroded hallways, following the numbers until he found it. 

He felt the knife in his grip, adjusting it slightly before taking a deep breath. Pressed low against the wall, Diego slowly turned the knob.

Before the door even got halfway open, Diego heard Klaus’ voice, but it was obstructed by something.

“E-hind ah or!”

_Behind the door._

Diego shoved the door the rest of the way without holding anything back. He felt a satisfying thud that was accompanied by a pained sound and he knew he had hit his target. He drew the door back and thrusted it again. Again. 

“Nice one, Klaus!” Diego shouted, twisting around to get into the hotel room.

He spared only a moment to look at his brother. His typical pale skin seemed borderline translucent, making each bruise and cut glaringly apparent. The split lip, the long cuts along his cheekbone, the deep crimson that stained the left side of his shirt, the shredded pant leg with the pool of blood at the base of his foot. Diego’s imagination had a field day inventing scenarios that lead to the catalog of Klaus’ injuries and each one had him burning with rage. And these were just the ones he could see. But his eyes were there. He was lucid, and digging holes into him with his eyes.

Klaus had sweat through his clothes and his face was glistening, which made his curls cling to his face. This was more than just cookie-cutter torture, this was the drugs too. This wasn’t Diego’s first time seeing Klaus mid-withdrawal, but it always shook him. Many times, Diego found himself ready to blame Klaus, wanting to shake the addiction out of him, but whenever Klaus did try to get clean, the state he went to scared the shit out of him. There had been many times were Diego had stayed up in Klaus’ room to watch over him as he had his nightmares and fits, waking him up when they got to the next level. Many times he watched as Klaus went through his shakes day after day. But Klaus always seemed to cave, and his heart sank every time Klaus showed up again, with a renewed high and witty banter to dilute the disappointment that they both refused to recognize. It made a fair bit of sense why it seemed easier to take another hit when the alternative was what it was. The sight now almost stopped him cold, but he knew there was still someone’s ass to kick.

Whoever was behind the door recovered quickly, he jumped to his feet and threw his entire weight into Diego’s gut. Luckily, Diego had picked up a thing or two while working at Al’s and planted himself firmly into the ground to minimize the blow. Once the man was trapped underneath him, Diego wrapped his arm around the man’s neck and squeezed as hard as he could. The man ineffectively threw punches into Diego’s back, clearly beginning to realize he had underestimated him.

“Oo! ‘Ere’s oo!”

_What??_

Diego spared another moment and looked away from the attacker to shoot the question wordlessly at Klaus.

“‘Ere’s. Oo!” Klaus choked, trying harder.

The attacker’s grip on his arm tore his attention away from his brother and back to the task at hand. Diego wrenched his arm back and turned his wrist, working it free. Flipping his grip around, Diego slashed deliberately at the man’s bicep, making him lose his footing. There Diego saw his window of opportunity. He followed the asshole to the ground and slammed his knee into the man’s chest, his knife raised above his head. 

A click filled the air, instantly drawing Diego’s attention to Klaus. Another man stood above him, a pistol trained directly at Klaus’ temple. Klaus was shaking even harder than before, tears streaming down his face as his eyes pleaded at him.

 _‘There’s two’_ Diego realized. _That’s what he was trying to say. Shit._

“Drop. Your. Knives.” The man ordered. When Diego didn’t move, the command came out more forcefully, and with a jab at Klaus’ head to add pressure. “NOW!”

Diego weighed his options. His knives could get both of these men easily, his abilities would make sure of that. But there was no way he could ever be fast enough to get this guy before the gun would go off. There was no way, with any ability, to make throwing knives move faster than a bullet. The alternative, he could give them what they wanted. Temporarily. But he would be unarmed and most likely joining Klaus. One option where he surrendered and one option where his brother was murdered. Neither were tempting, but only one was acceptable. The one that kept Klaus safe, for now.

Klaus’ eyes widened when he realized Diego was giving up and started shaking his head desperately, begging him not to. But Diego didn’t see any other choice. Klaus’ muffled words pulled at him, the desperation oozing out of each sound he managed to get past the gag. With deep resentment, Diego slowly held out his hands and dropped his knives to the ground and released his hold on the man he had pinned. He refusing to look at his brother again. It would kill him to see the defeat that he knew he would find there.

After the man scrambled back up, he shoved Diego further into the room, roughing him up a little, and closed the door completely. It was most likely an attempt to regain any dignity he had just lost. Diego almost smirked. It was easy to act tough when you had a gun backing you up. Begrudgingly, Diego wordlessly sat in the chair the man pointed to and winced as each arm was bound. Not that it hurt, but just the idea that his coward was loving this pissed him off. Once both men were satisfied, the gun was lowered. Diego’s body relaxed and he let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. He was only six feet away from his brother.

“Now that all of that unpleasantness is dealt with,” the gunman started, “I’ll give you a brief family reunion before we talk business, yeah?”

The gag was removed from Klaus’ mouth and words started spilling out before Diego could say anything.

“Diego! Diego… Diego I’m… God I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t listen to Ben is what happened and I wasn’t thinking. And the powder just WHOOP went up before I knew what to do...” Klaus cried, leaning forward in his chair. Diego’s heart seized. He had never heard his brother sound like this before. And bringing up Ben? All he wanted to do was get a hold of him. And the best way he knew how to protect was with his strength. His accuracy. His knives. He had never good with words, but if that’s the only way he was going to be able to calm him down, he had to try.

“Klaus, stop--”

“And I thought if any ol’ person could pull it off I could right? Like, I actually KNOW what deadies look like, you know? So it should’ve been a good show. I already know that you do know, Diego. But they don’t, so I could, but they knew I wasn’t telling the truth.”

“Klaus, listen to me!” Diego tried again, more forceful this time.

“And it is NOT good. Nuh-uh, it is not good. They hit too much and they cut up like it isn’t anything, Diego. And Diego, I know I shouldn’t have come on my own, okay I know that but I thought it was about you the letter was about you and I had--”

The man abruptly brought the gun to Klaus’ head again, abruptly cutting his brother’s rambling short with a scared yelp.

“I’ve heard just about enough from you.” he seethed. “You’re voice is REALLY starting to piss me off!” Klaus bent over further, quietly trembling.

Diego felt his hands balling into fists as rage pulsed through his body. They had used HIM to get Klaus here. The realization had him seeing red.

“K...Kl...Klaus...s..mhm.” Diego’s felt his face burning with humiliation. What a stupid time for his speech break down. “‘S ok..ok..k..ay.”

Klaus’ eyes snapped open and Diego saw his brain processing. It took mere moments for his demeanor to shift instantly. With terror still clear on his brother’s face, he slowly straightened up, abandoning his cowering stance. Diego’s breath hitched in his throat. He still looked like shit, but the delirium seemed to start to mellow down, as if hearing Diego’s faltering made him realized Diego needed him too.

“And you.” The man continued, “If you say one more word to him without one of our permission again, this bullet is going to find a home in his head. Understand?”

Diego nodded his head, not trusting himself to speak again.  


_______

“I can’t! I swear, I can’t” Klaus pleaded as he tried to bring his knees up to defend his exposed chest, only for them to be stopped by the restraints.

“His ability doesn’t work like that, assholes!”

“This one looks like he’s made of tougher stuff.” The one Klaus called “Charlie” sneered back to his friend. Diego’s glare hardened as the man leaned in, “Your brother over there folded in the second we started slapping him around.”

_Too far._

Diego threw his head back and hurled it into Charlie’s face, blind with rage.

Charlie’s roar filled the apartment as he recoiled, pressing his hand to his nose. Diego basked in a moment of pleasure. It may have been an impulsive decision, but that felt great. Until he took one of Diego’s knives off of the nightstand and stormed over to Klaus.

Anticipating the blade, Klaus steeled and glared up as the man approached.

“Oh, so you’re a tough guy now?” Charlie sneered. “Is your brother rubbing off on you? Bad idea, really, because he just got you in a world of trouble.” He pounced and made a grab for Klaus’ hand. Not expecting that, Klaus yelped, the fear instantly returning to his eyes, and he balled it into a fist. The two of them wrestled over his fingers until Charlie wormed his way underneath and pried them apart.

“Hey! Hey!” Diego yelled, fighting against the ropes holding him. “He didn’t do anything!”

Without breaking his stride at all, Charlie honed in on the ring finger as Klaus hopelessly continued to try to rip his hand away, the ropes burning his skin if they hadn’t already. Charlie lined up the knife. Perfectly between Klaus’ nail, with was bitten down to nothing and chipped with black polish, two habits Diego had always found endearing, and the skin. Looking directly at Diego, Charlie pushed up.

Klaus practically flew out of his seat. Diego could do nothing but watch as Klaus writhed and pushed himself into the back of the chair, his head falling over the other side. His mouth opened wide with a soundless wail.

“D--” Klaus cried, then he quickly pursed his lips. 

Diego knew Klaus was about to say his name but thought better of it, knowing it wouldn’t be fair because they both knew he was absolutely useless and could not stop these men in any way.

“Cowards!” Diego exploded, his rage completely boiling over. “Take a turn in this direction, huh? Or are you scared that I can still beat the shit out of you from this chair?!”

“We seem to be working on you just fine.” Johnny replied arrogantly.

Diego had never felt so useless in his entire life.

Klaus finally eased back down, but he was blanched. Diego saw his head move slowly… a nod… as if he were listening to someone. 

“You think he can get you something. You can’t keep pushing him this far.” Diego tried to reason. The fear he had been working so hard to contain was threatening to break to the surface. “I know my brother, and he is getting to a point he won’t be able to get back from!”

“But haven’t we been spending this entire time trying to convince us that he can’t do what we want?” Charlie challenged, reaching for his gun. “What if I decide to start believing you? Then he’s completely worthless.”

That shut Diego up.

“Besides…” The gun moved downward. “Little Klaus here doesn’t need both of his feet to talk do the dead, does he?”

The gun went off and Klaus screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is the time frame for this story? I don't know. How did Diego get there so quickly? You tell me. There may be some inconsistencies here, but we're all here for the whump, right?
> 
> And it's time for the best gift whump can give: mutual torture! Definitely a Top 3 trope for me. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!


	5. So Lift Me Up Out of Here, My Friend

_A flash._

__

_This is how it always started._

__

__

_Or a shriek. It could easily be mistaken for a bird. A caw. A quick, shrill burst of sound. Then it would be cut off, the noise lingering._

_What is worse than the faces is knowing the signs and knowing there is nothing you could do to stop what was next. Knowing the signs but not the way out. A burning building with no escape. The smoke fills your lungs. Makes your throat seize. The flames lick at your skin, taunting you. A slight touch that threatens a whole lot more. And there is never an exit. There are only ever two options: either close your eyes and let it take you while your back is turned or face the fire and allow yourself to see the horror before it gets you, but either way you are going to burn._

__

__

_What is worse is when you don’t realize you ever fell asleep._

__

__

_What is worse is when you know your heart is pounding and your arms are reaching, but it is never quick enough. The delay of a dream._

_In your head, it’s just you. Just you and those who come without permission._

_Klaus._

__

__

_And when you keep them away for so long, they come back hard._

_Klaus…_

__

_Nope._

_It isn’t just the noise. It was never just the noise. It’s the feeling. They feel such pain. Each tear drowning. Each wail gutting. Each gasp stripping the air from your own lungs. A pain that holds such torment that it spreads like a disease. Like an injection that courses through your veins. A pain that was never meant to be contained to a single soul. A pain that festers and forces itself upon anyone it can reach. A pain that attacks like a cornered animal: feral and blind._

_Klaus._

 

__

_Nope.  
Leave me alone!_

__

_Klaus!_

Klausssss…

_That’s what his father never understood. What he didn’t understand was that it was never a fear of THEM. Their hollowed faces, often at a second glance, were just the faces of the lost and confused. It was a fear of their pain. They couldn’t stop it. And it HURT. God, it hurt so much. Each morning that he woke with the shakes and the aches, he reveled in that misery. Because the tired hangovers and the clouded headaches and the abused veins had nothing on the suffering of the dead._

_KLAUS!_

__

_I said no!_

 

__

_Klaus._

_But to a kid, forced to face an army with nothing but his tiny fists, clenched tight while knowing it was hopeless… the friendliest of faces and the best of intentions manifest into something insurmountable. If never tended, a puncture becomes permanent. Like tortured skin where track marks gleam, if broken too many times, it becomes too tough. Too guarded. A wound that goes so deep it builds its own armor. When it becomes easier to shut down than to open up._

_KLAUS!_

_KLAUS!_

__

_**NO!** _

__

_He was surrounded and he knew it. The fire was closing in._

  


\------- 

Diego knew something was wrong the moment his brother’s breathing changed. He had focused in on it ever since Klaus had fallen asleep, once Charlie and Johnny wore themselves out and finally decided to leave his brother alone for the night. Diego had made the steady sound his center. His focus. Something that he could hang onto in order to keep himself grounded. It was a sound that lulled him to a place of rest as well. Not sleep, but rest. Diego knew that Klaus was helping, even if his brother wasn’t aware of it, and that filled him with guilt. No comfort should be afforded to him, especially if he couldn’t even protect his own brother.

But now there was a change. Klaus’ breath started to become irregular. The patterned tone shifting to become more jagged, more off-rhythm as more air was being forced in and out of his nose. The small hitch in his breathing might as well have been an alarm, for Diego instantly shot up. Diego knew automatically that it was a nightmare. 

Discreetly, Diego tugged at the ropes. He bit back a groan when they barely moved. He tried again, stronger this time. That only made the floorboard creak, painfully reminding him that there were two other people in the room and that he needed to stay quiet. Diego watched his brother, willing his gaze to manifest into something that could rouse Klaus. He wasn’t ready for this. It had been hard enough when they had shared those late nights when they were children. At least he had been able to hold Klaus while he battled his demons then. But this time, all it took was some damn rope to inhibit him from doing his job. 

“Stop…” Klaus whimpered.

It was difficult to see Klaus with just the bit of moonlight that snuck between the curtains, but Diego could see enough. His brother was keeled over, or at least as far over as his restraints would allow him to. His shoulder blades jutted out at the strain as Klaus tried to bury his head further in between his legs. Diego mentally kicked himself for not noticing the shift sooner, before it had gotten to this point. When there may have been enough time to get Klaus awake before the nightmares took hold.

“No…” Klaus cried, louder this time.

“Klaus!” Diego whispered, willing his brother to stay quiet, “Wake up!”

The only response he got was a low sob. Diego watched helplessly as Klaus unconsciously straightened back up and let his head fall backwards over the end of the chair. His hands were white and clutching to the arms of the chair. His involuntary jerks cut the rope deeper into his pale skin, irritating the chafed burns, not that Klaus was in any state of mind to notice. The moonlight made the sweat on Klaus’ chest blaringly apparent as he heaved, trying to get his lungs to cooperate.

All too familiar. And although Diego would never admit it, he was scared.

As useless as the thought was, Diego’s stomach twisted wishing that Klaus would wake from this in a safe place. A place where he could be comforted with all of his junk and be in his own bed. A place where there weren’t two psychopaths holding them hostage and who were just begging for a reason to hurt him. But the noises Klaus were making were starting to pick up and Diego knew that meant the dreams were getting worse. 

_Please, Klaus._ Diego willed, even though he knew it wasn’t fair. _Just shut up!_

Diego tensed as Charlie shifted in his sleep.

But Klaus couldn’t stop. “Get away from me!”

“Shut up!” Charlie mumbled aggressively, still half asleep. 

“GET AWAY FROM ME!”

That got both Charlie and Johnny awake.

“Since when have you been the one making demands around here?” Charlie chided as he rolled over to turn on a light.

The sudden light hit Diego’s eyes, forcing him to shut them until they had time to adjust. His attention went straight to his brother.

God, Klaus looked bad.

These assholes seemed to think so too. The two of them lifted their covers and went over to get a closer look. Diego thought that perhaps they would actually do something about it, judging by the confusion on their faces. Charlie looked Klaus up and down, a hint of something in his eyes. For a moment, Diego thought it might be concern, but then realized it was amusement.

“I’m not even touching him, man.” Charlie finally commented.

“We’ve been hitting him pretty hard, maybe he’s finally lost it.” Johnny laughed.

Diego bristled. “It’s his nightmares. He gets them at night.”

Charlie turned his attention towards Diego. “Then why haven’t we seen them before?”

Diego bit back the urge to tell them to fuck off. He knew it would be naive to think they would leave Klaus alone completely, but maybe if they knew a little of the truth, they wouldn’t punish him as harshly for waking them up. Diego took a few moments to calculate the risk.

“...He hasn’t had any drugs in awhile.” Diego finally answered, begrudgingly.

Charlie looked skeptical. “What does that have to do with anything?” 

Diego’s gaze hardened. He decided he was done talking. He wasn’t going to give them more insight on he and his brother than necessary. Diego didn’t know the extent of Klaus’ abilities to speak to the dead. For all either of them knew, Klaus would be able to summon specific people if he was sober enough. But if Charlie and Johnny were to come to the same conclusion… Diego knew that they would only hurt Klaus more.

“Aw. Don’t clam up on us now, Diego.” Johnny scolded mockingly. 

When Diego didn’t go for the bait, Johnny pouted and looked back to Charlie. Diego took the moment to steal a look at Klaus. The light seemed to have some sort of effect. He had started to go slack, his shoulders uncoiling from their tense position. Klaus wasn’t completely back yet, but at least he looked to be past the worst bit. He had opened his eyes and Diego could hear his brother mumbling, leaning to the side as if listening closely to something.

“Well, we’ll just have to make sure he has a stronger incentive to keep with us, huh?” Charlie threatened. Diego jerked at his restraints as the man ruffled Klaus’ tangle of curls, Klaus’ head lobbing to the side the moment he let go.

“Diego?” Klaus whimpered. Diego’s heart stopped at the sound. Klaus sounded so shaky.

“God, that’s hot.”

Before Klaus even had a moment to recover from his nightmare, Johnny kissed Klaus’ temple, then gently started a trail of kisses, his lips just ghosting over Klaus’ skin. He used is free hand to trace Klaus’ lithe collarbone. Klaus was snapped out of his fog instantly, clearly becoming more alert with the assault. The shocked noise Klaus made was muffled by the hand over his mouth. Johnny made direct contact with Diego, smiling devilishly as he ran his hand down Klaus’ chest, as if daring Diego to do something. As much as Diego resented it, he knew that his fear and fury was written all over his face.

Johnny, only being fueled by Diego’s protective anger, tilted Klaus’ chin upward and went for his mouth. Surprised, Klaus let out a sharp gasp. Taking advantage of the moment, Johnny to force his tongue into Klaus’ mouth. After the initial shock, Klaus bit back, a sob escaped his lips as Johnny reeled back.

“Are you fucking serious?” Johnny shouted, bringing his hand to his mouth. “You’re going to wish you hadn’t done that, you little bitch.” 

Diego could feel his skin burning as he lunged at Johnny, who had balled his hand up into a fist and raised it above his head.

_Crack!_

Everyone froze, their attention immediately shifting to the nightstand next to the beds. Charlie whipped his gun in the general direction. None of them moved, staring, analyzing, trying to figure out what had made the noise. Even Klaus’ eyes were wide, his mouth slightly dropped in shock. However, his gaze seemed higher up than the rest of them, staring at something else. Diego tried to follow it, but he couldn’t see a thing.

Charlie motioned for Johnny to check it out, to which Johnny sighed and released his hold, his hands finally off of Klaus. Carefully, the two inched their way over towards the beds, Charlie covering as Johnny leaned onto the floor. Diego stretched to try to get a closer look as well. No one seemed to breathe. Until Johnny let out a sharp laugh, which made Klaus jump.

Diego heard Johnny strain as he felt around the floor, reaching underneath one of the beds. Lifting an alarm clock triumphantly, Johnny resurfaced. He then paraded it in front of his colleague, as if he had done something impressive or faced some sort of great danger.The way he was holding himself nauseated Diego.

“Damn alarm clock fell over!” he grinned.

“Do it.” Klaus whispered.

“Why do you keep TALKING?” Charlie shouted, turning to point his gun at Klaus. “You’re always fucking talking, unless you’re passed out. And even then you still run your fucking mouth!”

But Klaus was in a completely different world. Charlie’s words had absolutely no effect. Instead, Klaus’ attention seemed skewed in another direction entirely, his head tilted to the opposite side. His eyes seemed so clear, despite the fact that he was staring into space. But it was with such focus. The familiar haze of drugs had dissipated, leaving lucidity in its wake.

Klaus’ breath hitched and he suddenly keeled over and started to shake violently. Diego tugged at his ropes, desperate to get to him. His first thought was that it was another nightmare, but Klaus was awake. There’s no way he could have gotten asleep that quickly. Something was wrong.

It was then Diego noticed Klaus’ hands. They were glowing blue.

“The hell is he even doing?” Charlie exasperated.

Johnny glowered, throwing the alarm clock to the side. “At this point, this isn’t even about our boss anymore. This is personal.”

Johnny violently undid the ropes around Klaus’ wrists and, taking a fistful of Klaus’ hair, threw him to the floor and jumped on top of him. The rope around Klaus’ ankles held true however, and there was a sickening crack as one ankle was forced too far. Klaus cried out in shock. Not giving him a second to recover, Johnny snatched Klaus’ arm and wrenched it behind him. He leaned down, intentionally adding pressure to the arm and shoulder, to the point Diego was afraid something was going to break.

Klaus managed to get turned around and began clawing at Johnny’s face, trying to push him away. Whatever Diego had seen happening to Klaus’ hands earlier was gone. No blue glow. Instead, Klaus’ hands looked feeble as they tried to dodge blow after incoming blow, his palms outstretched in defense, rather than offense. Klaus’ eyes squeezed shut as he tried to fight back blindly. Diego grunted and began kicking his legs, trying to break anything so that he could get his damn ass out of the chair.

There it was again.

Klaus was glowing.

No. His… **tentacles** were glowing?

A blaze of blue erupted, illuminating the room with a light so intense, Diego was stunned. Instinctively, he turned away, wanting to shield his eyes. On high alert, he heard a myriad of sounds, which his mind quickly pieced together. Glass shattered. The window was broken. A few stray pieces scraped the side of Diego’s cheek as they flew through the room, confirming that. As objects pelted to the floor, Diego could feel the vibrations on all sides. There were two heavy thuds, which he knew where Charlie and Johnny being flung against the walls, to Diego’s immense satisfaction. What he felt above all else, however, was fear.

As quickly as the attack started, all turned silent. It took Diego a few moments to trust that it was over before he gave himself permission to look. Of course, the first thing he was saw Klaus, and Diego could have sworn his brother was levitating. Confused, Klaus turned over his hands. At some point in the chaos, the bonds around his ankles had been severed, leaving Klaus free of the chair that had been holding him captive for so long. Charlie moaned, bring Klaus back to the present. They both snapped over to see the man cradling the back of his head, still in shock.

Klaus only had a few seconds. He needed to act fast and he knew it. He earnestly scanned the room until his eyes landed on Diego’s knife, which had landed on the floor some ways away. He slowly touched back to the ground. Unbalanced on his legs, which were weak from not being used for so long, he went for the knife. He didn’t make it very far though, hissing when he put pressure on the broken ankle, which was no longer aided by levitation, and he collapsed onto the ground.

“Come on, Klaus!” Diego pushed, as if his words could transfer his own strength to him. “Come on!”

Diego stole a glance to Charlie and Johnny. Johnny was either dead or still knocked out cold. Charlie, however, seemed to be getting a hold of his surroundings.

“I’m trying!” Klaus strained. 

Klaus let out a relieved laugh when he got a hold of the knife. Using Diego's chair to pull himself up, Klaus got to work. Diego winced when Klaus' trembling make the knife cut his skin instead of the rope, but he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he murmured encouragement, trying to keep Klaus grounded and calm. Both of them stared vehemently at the rope until the rope finally broke. 

The moment Diego felt the rope slacken, he sprang into action. Klaus had done it. One free arm was all he needed.

“You did good, Klaus.” Diego panted, ripping at the rope around his other wrist. 

Just in time too. Klaus yelped as Charlie’s grip coiled around his good ankle and dragged him back. Charlie towered over him, rage twisting his face as he grabbed for Klaus’ throat. Instinctively, Diego lunged for Klaus’ hand, to get a hold of him and get him back. But when he couldn’t catch Klaus before he was out of his reach, Diego knew their best hope was if he got himself untied. As much as it tore at him, Diego turned his attention away from the sounds of his brother and Charlie’s grunts and focused entirely on his bonds.

_Come on! Come on!_

Klaus’ bravery had afforded him this chance, and he wasn’t going to lose it. Diego’s fingers started to bled as he ripped at the coarse rope, but he didn’t care. The second his other hand was free, he swooped down to his feet and made quick work of the restraints there too. Diego afforded himself a moment to get used to standing again, quickly analyzing his options. The best, of course, were his knives. The knife Klaus had used was on the floor and instantly in Diego’s hand. 

Charlie’s hands were locked around Klaus’ throat, and Klaus was losing what was left of strength fast. Malnutrition and exhaustion are never allies in combat. Without thinking, Diego threw his knife with every bit of malice and strength he had left in him. With a yell, Diego trained every bit of his ability into the force of the throw and watched as it landed squarely into Charlie’s chest. Before Klaus could get out of the way, the man’s dead weight fell onto him, making Klaus scramble and kick his way out from underneath. Seeing Klaus struggling with the heaviness, Diego rushed over and helped push the man off high enough that Klaus was able to slink out. Once Klaus was far enough out of the way, he shoved Charlie back onto the ground, wishing that it could hurt him more.

Klaus clung onto him; an action Diego reciprocated. The two of them sat, panting for some time. Diego could feel Klaus shaking under his hold. Diego earnestly tried to soothe him, quickly stroking the back on his head as Klaus buried it into Diego’s chest. Diego spared a moment to look at Klaus’ foot. An untreated gunshot wound and a broken ankle… He wasn’t going to make it anywhere. Diego knew he was going to have to carry Klaus out of there.

“Okay. Okay. Klaus…” Diego cupped his brother’s face in his hands, waiting until Klaus’ tearful eyes met his before continuing, “We need to go now.”

Klaus nodded weakly

“How did you do that?”

Klaus gave a tired laugh. “I haven’t been this sober in a LONG time.”

Diego felt a lump rising in his throat, choking the question he was hesitant to ask. “Was… was that… Ben?”

Klaus’ eyes, which brimmed with tears, met Diego’s. Wordlessly, he nodded. A wistful laugh escaped Diego’s lips and he placed an earnest kiss on Klaus’ forehead.

“That was amazing.” Diego breathed, giving himself another moment to savor his brother’s weight and that he was finally in his hold. That he was finally able to keep him safe.

A low groan made the two of them bristle. _Charlie. He was still alive._

“You gotta help me out, Klaus.” Diego urged. “I need you to get on my back.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Stop.” Klaus resisted feebly as Diego began to pull him up. “I need to know what the powder was.”

“What powder?” Diego asked, his frustration building. “Klaus, we don’t have time for that.”

“Stop. No! Diego!” Klaus continued to struggle against Diego’s attempts to lift him. “I need to know what it was.”

_Dammit!_

“Hey!” Diego kicked Charlie in the stomach as hard as he possibly could, causing the man to keel over. “What was the powder?”

“Go to hell.” Charlie choked.

Diego crushed Charlie deeper into the floor. God, it felt good. “Wrong answer.” 

“Ack.... Okay, okay!” Charlie screamed, “Stop! It was Rohypnol!” 

There was a thought that gave Diego some serious pause. Since Charlie wasn’t killed by the original knife wound, that meant Diego had to finish the job. He wasn’t pausing because he didn’t know if he should kill the guy. No. The guy was going to fucking rot. But now there were options. A surge of loathing flooded his senses, a feeling that felt both empowering and sickening at the same time. As Diego stood over the man, all he could imagine was putting him through the same hell they had put Klaus through. Taking a deep breath, Diego bent down.

Diego ripped the knife out of Charlie’s chest, relishing it. There was no way this guy had enough strength to do anything to them now. Leave him to bled out slowly. Diego went over to look at Johnny, to make sure he wasn’t still alive. He hoped that Charlie would feel every bit of pain that was coming to him. After checking for a pulse, the answer was a solid no. Whatever Klaus and Ben had done had done the job.

“There. Are you happy now?” Diego asked Klaus.

Klaus nodded, holding out his hand to him. “Get us out of here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all. That coding for the nightmare section was a literal nightmare.
> 
> Good news for you all! As I was working on this chapter, I realized that I wouldn't have enough room to finish it up, so there is going to be another chapter after this one! I told myself it would only be five, as I tend to make stories longer than I originally intend, but here we are. Classic. 
> 
> Thank you for all of your comments and kudos. Everytime I get a notification that someone commented, I get such a blast of dopamine.


	6. And He Waved Goodbye with his Dead Man's Hand

Getting Klaus down the hallway had been easy enough, once Klaus put his pride away. At first, he had resisted against being carried on Diego’s back, insisting that he was able to do it himself, as long as Diego helped support him. Rather than wasting time having a debate, Diego agreed. However, it quickly became apparent that Klaus wasn’t going to make it on his mutilated ankle which, just from a quick glance, Diego knew would need serious attention. That and other injuries. The side of Klaus’ shirt was dyed deep crimson, a stark reminder that there were wounds Diego still hadn’t been able to see. Every few yards, they had to stop so that Klaus could catch his footing. He kept shying away from putting any sort of weight on the injury, which only made him trip over it and roll it over and over again. Even with Diego holding him up, Klaus eventually had to accept that his original plan wasn’t going to work. 

Once the two of them readjusted, Diego put his arms underneath Klaus’ legs, intentionally avoiding looking at Klaus’ foot, which he knew would be looking something wicked by this point. Klaus lightly wrapped his arms around Diego’s neck and the two of them made their way, back to chest, towards the illuminated stair exit. Both of them looked longingly at the “Out of Order” sign on the broken down elevator as they passed by. The world would just end if anything worked in their favor, wouldn’t it?

Klaus weighed practically nothing. Diego knew immediately that getting him down the stairs in this position wouldn’t be a problem. Diego did, however, feel burdened. Klaus weighed nothing, but it was shame Diego borne. Each effortless step served as a cruel reminder as to Klaus’ abuse. His brother shouldn’t feel this fragile. This gaunt. He kept avoiding Klaus’ gaze, which he felt drilling into him anytime Klaus looked his direction. He hadn’t done shit. He might as well not have even showed up, for all the good he did. All he had done was given those two psychopaths an audience. All he had done was make it worse and put Klaus in more danger.

They made it down a few stories and perhaps it wasn’t going to be as easy as Diego originally thought. Still manageable, but Diego had underestimated his own exhaustion as well. He refused to let up on himself though. There was a part of him that decided he deserved the strain. It was his own self-inflicted punishment. But there was something on his mind that he couldn’t let it go, even with the guilt...

“So, are you going to tell me what all that was about?” Diego grunted, trying to compensate for his nervousness.

“What?”

“Why did you need to know the powder?” Diego questioned, then paused, not wanting to ask what he really wanted to ask. “Are you… wanting to use it?”

He instantly regretted asking. He could feel Klaus’ anger radiate from him.

“Yeah, Diego.” Klaus huffed. “After having the shit beaten out of me, having some guy feel me up, getting stabbed, and having my body broken and shot, I was really hoping I could score off of them, you know?”

“You’re right.” Diego apologized quickly. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

Diego dropped the conversation and the two of them continued to struggle down the stairs in silence. Diego really hadn’t realized how many flights there were on the way up, but with his own weariness, they seemed endless. Klaus was essentially dead weight as well, despite his attempts to help.

It was Klaus who finally spoke.

“It’s how they got me.” he whispered. “The powder. It knocked me out in seconds.”

Diego’s became heated with rage, just thinking about that. But he didn’t say anything.

“And when I came to, Ben was gone and--” Klaus’ voice cut off, wavering at the end. “I realized I was genuinely alone for the first time ever and that scared the shit out of me.”

Diego didn’t know what to say.

“I shouldn’t have snapped at you.” Klaus started again. “Let’s be honest, it wouldn’t be out of character for me to want to get high now, would it?”

“No. I was being stupid.” Diego insisted. He paused to hoist Klaus into a more workable position on his back. As gentle as he tried to be, Klaus still let out a small cry of pain at the shift. The distraction made Diego just miss a step, causing him to slip. In a panic, he jerked out for the railing, which made Klaus to almost fall off his back. Luckily, Klaus was cognizant enough to hook onto Diego before that happened.

“Ah… shit!” Klaus hissed as Diego stabilized, one of his arms moving from around Diego’s shoulders to clutch at his ribs. “You gotta be more careful, D. I’m precious cargo.”

“You are.” Diego responded. He felt himself become flushed, instantly realizing what he had said.

Neither of them spoke for a moment, both surprised.

“Aw, Diego!” Klaus lilted, feigning shock. “Oh my god, do you love me? That’s so embarrassing!”

“You’re really going to give me a hard time about this?” Diego responded defensively, wishing Klaus would let it go. _God, how many floors are there to this place?_ “I just saved your ass!”

“I think it could be argued that I saved yours.” Klaus answered coyly. “Or did you miss those bad-ass Ben powers I was channeling?”

“I did.” Diego managed to get out. “Can you not strangle me?”

“Can you not DROP me?” 

Diego smiled, taking Klaus’ cheekiness as an extremely positive sign. Sighing, he turned his focus back to getting down the stairs, being more careful after the near-accident. Klaus did loosen his hold.

“I care about you too.” Klaus stated, hesitance in his voice. “And I’m glad you’re okay. If I’m being honest, the whole time we were in there, I was relieved it was me and that they were leaving you alone. And I know you’re going to hate that, because you’re you, but it’s the truth.”

Klaus’ sincerity was making Diego uncomfortable. He had never known his brother to take anything seriously. Or, at least he worked very hard to appear that way. Diego was sure that in private, Klaus was very burdened, but he always saved face and never really let anyone see that side of him. Even Diego.

“Do you mean that, though?” Klaus asked. “That I’m precious cargo?”

“Of course I do, Klaus.” Diego’s heart jumped into his throat. He couldn’t believe what he was saying, but he mean it deeply, and that realization startled him.

Klaus nuzzled his head into the back of Diego’s neck. “I love you too, okay?”

As happy as their conversation and made him, emotional vulnerability had never been Diego strong suit and he was relieved that that pleasant unpleasantness was over. Or at least he thought it was, until Klaus leaned forward and breathed into his ear.

“Ben says you should carry me bridal style.” Klaus teased.

“I am this close to leaving you here.” Diego threatened. 

Klaus laughed. “Okay, okay. I’ll stop.”

The sudden sound of a door hitching and swinging open echoed up through the stairwell, making both of them freeze. It was quickly followed by a slam as it was thrown into the wall. Wordlessly, Klaus unwrapped his legs from around Diego’s torso. 

The Hargreeves siblings had logged many hours of combat training, both individually and as a collective, whether all together or in pairs. Such intensive drilling led to an automatic, seamless understanding of one another’s nonverbal communication. Klaus slid off of Diego’s back as Diego lowered him towards the floor, knowing that Diego would need the totality of his mobility for whatever was now charging up the steps, and also knowing he could do little to help so he should get out of the way. Diego crouched down, using his weight to push Klaus closer into the wall, his natural instincts telling him to minimize space, therefore minimize weak points. However, Klaus had his own natural instincts as well, which urged him to peak over Diego’s shoulder and to prepare to protect his brother with just the same intensity.

Diego held out his arm, forcing Klaus to stay back.

Klaus’ grip on his brother’s shirt tightened.

They both waited, poised to strike.

The moment whatever it was barreled around the corner, Diego sprang into attack, using the high ground to his advantage. He got one solid hit in before the attacker yelled out.

“Hey! Diego! What the hell?!”

“Luther?!”

All of Klaus’ tension had been holding in his body escaped as he started cackling. Luther looked completely bewildered as Diego eased off, ceasing the attack, but still carrying plenty of temper in his glare.

“What’s so funny?” Luther asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Nothing. He just got you really good, didn’t he?” Klaus gestured to Luther’s face. A small trail of blood was starting to come from Luther’s nose.

Looking over his hand, Luther turned his full attention to his brother. His eyes quickly scanned the damage. Fury filled his eyes as he flew past them and started making his way further up the stairs, his murderous intentions made apparent on his face. 

“It’s already been taken care of,” Diego muttered, gripping Luther’s arm as he tried to pass. “It’s about damn time you got here.”

“We probably would’ve been able to get here a lot faster if you hadn’t left a jigsaw of hints and just told us where you were going!” Luther pushed back, throwing Diego’s hand off of him.

“What? And have you come in guns blazing first and asking questions second?” Diego snapped. “Couldn’t risk it.”

“Well clearly your plan worked out, huh? Look at him! He’s messed up!” Luther fought back, jabbing a finger in Klaus' direction. “Why do you always have to try to be the hero? We could have helped.”

“We?” Klaus interjected, seeing from Diego’s face how deeply the “hero” comment had hit.

“Yeah. Allison, Vanya, and Five are downstairs.”

“Aw, really?” Klaus swooned. “You all came for me? It’s a family reunion!”

“Could you at least grab his other side?” Diego mumbled, avoiding eye contact. “It would be useful if you helped get him down the stairs.”

Luther wordlessly accepted the pseudo-apology, probably knowing it was all he was going to get, and shifted so that he could take more of Klaus’ weight. When it occurred to Diego that it may be hard to get Klaus through a well-populated casino without being noticed, he brought it up to Luther, who informed him that Allison was running decoy with her celebrity status. He mentioned that a crowd had already started forming around her when he snuck past into the stairwell unobserved.

Diego laughed internally. His sister could never pass up an opportunity to be in the spotlight. However, there was a small part of him that knew that the fact they had all shown up to rescue Klaus spoke to a deeper, more authentic connection between the siblings than that. Allison may be vain, and she may have a big ego, but Allison did have an intense loyalty to those she chose to align herself with. That included her siblings. And if Diego was being honest with himself, they all had a bit of an ego they carried. 

Once they were safely outside of Binion’s, it wasn’t too hard to find Five and Vanya. Five had planted his rustic van in a section of the street clearly labelled as a “No Parking” zone, and it was still running, so there was no way one could miss it. The damn thing might be one of the clunkiest, loudest things Diego had ever witnessed. He was surprised that attention hadn’t been drawn towards this yet either. He would bet it could turn more eyes than his sister. 

The moment they emerged, Vanya rolled open the door and hurried to make room for Klaus in the back seat. Five got out of the driver’s side and held the door, his face aloof. Only his eyes betrayed him. For a moment they widened as Five took in Klaus’ appearance, but it was quickly hidden. There was a task at hand. Diego gently transferred Klaus over the Five and Vanya, watching carefully as they got him into the van. 

Vanya and Five carefully lowered him into the van. Klaus winced as he landed onto the seat, if you could call it that. The cushion was barely functioning, with holes exposing the yellow padding underneath. Despite it’s homely appearance, it seemed to be a relief for Klaus as he sighed and collapsed back. Vanya avoided looking at Klaus’ foot as she helped him lift his legs the rest of the way in. Klaus looked over at Diego fondly, which was the worse thing he could have done. Diego wanted him to yell at him, hit him, blame him. God knows Klaus had every right to do so. His forgiveness was the cruelest thing he could have done. Klaus eased further, his eyes slowly drifting closed. Vanya then stepped back, getting out of the way as Five reached for the door handle and started to close it.

“Woah, wait!” Klaus panicked. Vanya reached out for him, trying to keep him from hurting himself as he tried to jump out of the seat. The outburst made Klaus hit his injured foot on the seat in front of him, making him hiss. “What are you doing?”

“What are you talking about, Klaus?” Five chided. “We’re getting you home. Mom clearly needs to tend to your injuries immediately and it isn’t a short drive, so we need to go now.”

“I want Diego to come with me.”

Diego’s heart skipped a beat. Ignoring the looks from the rest of his siblings, especially Luther, Diego made his way into the van, carefully helping Klaus shift over so that he could have room beside him. Latching his arms underneath Klaus’ knees and placing his other arm around the shoulders, Diego used his momentum to move him more towards the middle, then slipped in behind him. He didn’t waste a second before closing the van door, knowing that the heat had returned to his face, and the last thing he wanted was for Luther, Vanya, or Five to see that. He could see Five working his way around to the driver’s side. 

_There’s that bridal style he was asking for._ Diego thought to no one in particular.

“Do something for me.” Klaus sighed, leaning onto Diego’s shoulder as Five shifted the van into drive.

“Anything you want, Klaus.”

“Don’t brood over this, yeah?” Klaus smiled weakly, exhaustion already starting to take hold. “I officially do not give you permission, and you’re essentially obligated to do what I tell you for like, at least the next one-hundred years.”

That feeling of unpleasant pleasantness stirred in his stomach again as Klaus lazily reached for his hand, lacing his fingers between Diego’s. Diego brought his head to rest on the top of his brother’s, allowing his brother to curl further onto him. Five shot Diego a look of confusion through the rear-view mirror, to which Diego scowled in return. Five gave an apologetic look and fixed his gaze elsewhere. 

Diego finally trusted himself to relax, the sleep starting to threaten his senses as well. Maybe he could put his guard down, just for a little. And if his siblings thought Klaus and his behavior to be odd, maybe he didn’t care that much. At this moment, the only opinion that mattered to him was that of the person who had now fallen asleep, all of his weight resting on Diego’s shoulder. And if Klaus had another nightmare, this time he would wake up and they would all be there. It wasn’t Klaus’ burden alone anymore and, if Diego had anything to say about it, it never would be again. 

Vanya turned from the passenger’s seat and gave a warm smile as her sights shifted from Klaus to Diego, a tenderness in her gaze. Five turned on the radio, which happened to play a song that they all enjoyed and Luther started absentmindedly tapping his feet to it and staring assertively out the window, trying to respect Diego’s privacy with Klaus in such a confined space. Five mentioned something about picking up Allison at the meet-up location, but fatigue gargled Diego's understanding. Regardless, Diego trusted himself to their care and surrendered to sleep as the van shifted beneath him and took off.

The Hargreeves family had never been very good at recovery, but maybe, for the first time in a long time, they had each other to depend on while they tried. Lord knows they all had a long car ride to get a good start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Thank you so much for reading this fic. This is the first time I have ever written a multi-chapter fic and not posted late, so this is a huge deal for me! I have some ideas for another Umbrella Academy fic, so that may be coming soon.
> 
> Also, shoutout to how it took me half an hour to try to figure out how to add an image. I drew a picture of Klaus and thought I would share it.
> 
> Here is a link to my tumblr. Please follow me so I don't lose touch with you!  
> https://malikai-firelordzuko-flame.tumblr.com/


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